NEW DELHI: The Electoral Bonds system was declared unlawful by a five-judge bench that included Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra. The ruling was pronounced unanimously on Thursday. The bench was making decisions on a number of appeals contesting the legality of the Central government’s Election Bonds Programme, which permits political parties to receive anonymous money. Beginning the ruling, Chief Justice Chandrachud stated that two opinions—one from him and the other from Justice Sanjiv Khanna—had reached the same conclusion. According to the bench, the petitions brought up two key points: whether the modifications infringe the right to information under Article 19(1)(a) and whether the unrestricted fundraising of corporations interfered with free and fair elections.The Chief Justice stated after the reading of his decision that the Supreme Court maintains that anonymous voting bonds violate both Article 19(1)(a) and the right to information. The Supreme Court ruled that since corporate payments through Electoral Bonds are made only as a quid pro quo, information about those donors must be made public. The court ruled that the Companies Act’s modifications, which allowed corporations to make limitless political contributions, were irrational and illegal. The Supreme Court ruled that restricting black money is not justifiable by violating someone’s right to information. The Supreme Court mandated that banks immediately cease issuing Election Bonds and that the State Bank of India (SBI) provide information on the Election Bonds that political parties have cashed. The Election Commission of India (ECI) would post the facts on its website after receiving them from SBI, according to the court’s ruling. On November 2 of last year, a five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice Chandrachud reserved its decision in the case. As part of initiatives to increase political fundraising transparency, the government announced the programme on January 2, 2018, and it was positioned as an alternative to monetary contributions given to political parties.
